


Recognized

by bessemerprocess



Series: Cooperation 'verse [5]
Category: Bones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Case Fic, Crossover, Identity Issues, Scuba Diving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-11-21
Updated: 2007-11-21
Packaged: 2017-10-14 07:12:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/146737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bessemerprocess/pseuds/bessemerprocess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seeley Booth looks like a certain vampire, but is he?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Recognized

Rona was the third slayer to spot a man strongly resembling Angel, though the first to see him daylight. She’d even gotten a name, Special Agent Seeley Booth.

Giles sighed, even at this late date Buffy didn’t need to run into a man who might as well be Angel’s clone. Which Giles had already put Andrew in charge of checking out. Better safe than sorry.

Once they were out of Sunnydale and things had settled, he’d arranged a “transfer” for Rona to Ohio State University. In fact, with Willow’s technical skills and a few of Giles contacts, every new slayer who wanted a chance at college got one. Rona had stuck with it and had even decided to go on to graduate school. Giles had pushed for medical school, both because Rona seemed suited and because it would be an indispensable skill for a slayer. Instead, she’d chosen a physical anthropology program with a focus on forensics. She claimed to have come to like dead people better than either the living or the undead.

Her report had been exceedingly complete and Giles was once again glad she was heading up the Northwestern region. Seeley Booth was warm, drew breath and had a pulse. Apparently, Rona had pulled him out of an open grave he’d almost fallen into. He showed no signs of recognizing her, either as herself or as a slayer and she’s gotten nothing from her slayer senses. More importantly, he had stood in direct sunlight and not turned to dust.

Giles considered Angel, pushing away the old pain and betrayal. He’d disappeared three years ago, thought dead after decimating the Circle of the Black Thorne: Spike and the rest of Angel Investigations gone with him. If he hadn’t died, had gone underground, well, Giles thought Seeley Booth was the kind of person Angel might just want to be. Still, the man had stood in direct sunlight and the Gem of Amarra was destroyed.

Going with gut instinct, Giles asked Willow to do some research and asked a few slayers to keep a close eye on the man. Not Buffy; she’d find out eventually but by then Giles hoped he could tell her that Seeley Booth was just a man.

***

It was the week before Christmas when Seeley Booth caught another teen aged girl staring at him. She looked like she was ready to lunge as if he was about to rip Bones’ throat out at any minute. Considering they were just walking to the car, this seemed like a bit of an overreaction.

He leaned in closer to Bones and said, “See the girl over there, no, don’t look, she’s just staring at me like I’m a criminal.”

Brennan resisted the urge to turn and glare at whomever was making Booth so jumpy, and instead glance briefly over her shoulder, “Woah, Booth, did you kill her father or something?”

“Not that I know of,” replied Booth, as the girl turned away and disappeared. “I don’t get it, do I look threatening to you?”

“You do carry a gun and both your posture and facial expression broadcast that you are capable of defending yourself confidently,” said Brennan as they reached the car, “However, those traits are usually considered desirable to teen aged girls, as they signal desirable traits to be passed on to offspring.”

“But,” said Booth and then stopped, “Wait, did you just say I was sexy?”

“No,” said Brennan, smiling. “I said, anthropologically speaking your physical traits point to healthy genes that are advantageous when selecting a mate.”

“You think I’m hot,” said Booth, sliding in to the car.

“Do not!” replied Brennan through her laughs.

***

Karina Takahashi recognized the man. He looked exactly like the picture that sat on the bureau in her bedroom. She considered sticking around, even though he’d spotted her, just to make sure the lady made it safely home. It would have pissed Connor off, and she had no reason to suspect the man was evil. She wasn’t even sure it was him. If he had been playing at being human for three years, she figured he wouldn’t break cover tonight.

She made it back to her apartment in record time. Karina checked the locks and wards before dialing Connor.

She’d met Connor at Stanford in her sophomore year. He was bright and funny and oh so hot. He didn’t mind when she talked science or when she left dirty dishes in his sink or even when she forced him to watch chick flicks. They had dated a year before he told her his parents weren’t his parents. It had taken even longer for her to tell him about her superpowers, only to be informed he too had superpowers. Not that that was a bad thing; there were plenty of things that superpowers made better. It was the fact that his parents were really vampires that sort of got to her.

Supposedly, his father was a good vampire, cursed with a soul and all, and may or may not be dead. Which was why Karina was dreading his reaction to her news, “Connor,” she said, “I think I found him.”

There was silence on the line, “I’m coming out there.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, “I don’t have any conclusive proof yet. Just a name and a face.”

“I’ve come close three other times and then he vanishes. Plus, there’s no way to know if his souled or not, and I’m not risking you,” said Connor.

Karina scoffed, “I could take him.”

“I can’t take him,” said Connor, “You’re not risking it. I’ll be there tomorrow. If he’s evil, we’ll turn him over to the Council. If not, well, we’ll go from there. I’ll see you then,” he said and then hung up the phone.

***

To the outside world, Connor was bright, talented and going places. He had a B.S. in electrical engineering from Stanford, a lovely girlfriend, and great job. It would shock his coworkers to find out that he had the survival skills to rival a navy seal. It would’ve shocked them more to know that those skills were the product of being raised in a hell dimension. Fortunately for Connor, the social skills he gained from his upper middle class family in Southern California made it easy to blend in.

He remembered his family, his childhood, but he hadn’t actually lived it. Those happy memories wrapped themselves around his real ones, combining to form something much stronger then either had been on their own. Connor could kill a demon, probably in his sleep, though he had never tried. He could also hold down a real job and talk to his cube mates about last night’s episode of Heroes without them ever suspecting he wasn’t just like them.

The happy family had been his father’s gift to him, the ultimate parental sacrifice: never see your child again to ensure they have a good life. Angel had done that for him, even after Jasmine, even after the explosives. It had taken him a while to get used to that. It was that Lawrence Reilly hadn’t loved him, he had. He’d been the best father magic could conjure up and even with Wolfram & Hart out of the picture, Connor thought he’d remain that way. And Angel wasn’t even going to win Father of the Year. He was a vampire, albeit one with a soul. Lawrence Reilly had taught him to catch a ball and tie his shoes, he’d waited up for Connor after Prom, and had lugged his computer up four flights of stairs to his first dorm room. Angel had given him that life at the expense of losing him.

If things had been different, he might be six years old right now. Instead of having had a child slash deadly peace goddess with Cordelia, she might be dropping him off at school. Gunn would’ve taught him to tie his shoes and stand up to bullies. Wes would have handled the homework, and he’d be calling Angel dad.

Except they were dead or missing: only Wes’ body had been found and identified, though Connor was pretty sure Gunn had also died in his father’s last, greatest battle. After his memories came rushing back, Connor had started to think more strategically. He had made friends with a few people who would eventually be in places from where they could help him and one or two people who could help him now. Neither Eddie nor Frankie, both girls, both hackers extraordinaire, one by way of technology, the other, magic, had found any trace of Angel. Either he really was dead or he was excellent at staying off the grid.

He didn’t believe his father was dead. At first it had been an idle exercise, but as his old memories intertwined with the new, Connor found he needed to know what happened. It took two year to gather the resources he’d need, though Karina being a slayer was just pure luck. He had first heard rumors of a man who might be Angel his junior year. Some one had seen something and told someone, but Connor was unable to track down the source.

It was not until a few months after graduation that he’d gotten the current lead. By then he’d just been hired, a job he was hoping to keep for a while, and Karina had volunteered to go in his place.

She’d gotten a name, which was more than Connor had been able to do. He’d passed it on to several contacts. In a few hours, he’d know everything there was to know about Seeley Booth. In the mean time, he packed a suitcase and purchased a ticket to D.C.

***

On the way to the airport, Connor collected the information his sources had uncovered on Seeley Booth. Once his luggage was stowed and he was safely belted into his seat, Connor pulled out the folder for a little light reading.

Seeley Booth, or rather Agent Seeley Booth of the FBI, was the same height and build as Angel, eye color and hair color matched, so far so good. From the pictures that had been provided, it even looked like he moved like Angel. Connor scanned through the information, focusing on a few salient points. Agent Booth worked cases with the help of the Jeffersonian’s forensic anthropology team. Karina had seen him out with his partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan, who headed the team, though the sources were divided on exactly what kind of partnership it was.

Brennan was a forensic anthropologist, published author, and with those sorts of marital arts skills, could take care of herself in almost any situation. Not against Angelus, but if these reports were right, Seeley Booth was not dabbling in any sort of evil besides bad belt buckles and ugly socks.

Connor let out a sigh of relief. A fight between him and Angelus might not go so well. He remembered what it took for Faith to take down Angelus, and even with his shadowy contacts, he can’t pull off the sort of major strategic attack it would take. He hadn’t been lying to Karina about calling in the Council. These days, with thousands of slayers running around, he figured Faith and her friends would be able to take on Angelus and win.

If Seeley Booth really was Angel, if his father was undercover for some reason, well, there’d be no point in informing the Council. Angel knew what he was doing, and maybe saving innocent lives and bringing down human killers was the work he needed to be doing right now. Besides, at the moment, Connor wasn’t sure the Council knew who he was and he’d like to keep it that way.

Booth had parents and a brother, none of whom seemed to resemble him, and a son. Connor stared at the paper. The picture of Parker Booth could’ve been any of the ones lining his parent’s mantle. The similarity shocked Connor. Parker had just turned six, only a few months younger then Connor should have been. He was in the custody of his mother, though Booth seemed to visit often.

A brother. Connor’s head spun. Was it just a trick, something Angel had cooked up to bolster his cover? It could be an illusion, which would explain the similarities, or perhaps some other sort of magic. Connor didn’t know, but he was more determined than ever to find out.

While Connor flew over the American Midwest, Giles sat at his desk in England and stared at a file very similar to what Connor had read. Giles’ file, however, contained a piece of information that Connor’s didn’t. Parker Booth had been magically tampered with, at least once. The source couldn’t tell how or by who, but the timing made Giles suspicious.

This was enough for him to put the three slayers in Washington, D.C. on alert. Maeve Hawkins, Bex Taylor and Abeni Weyland all lived in the area, though none of them had been with them in Sunnydale. He also sent word to Faith and Dawn, who were currently sharing a flat, or rather, an apartment as it was America, in Virginia somewhere. He knew Dawn had told him, and he could get Andrew to check for him if he really needed it, but keeping track of the activities of a thousand young girls and their support system was much more difficult then being the Watcher to a Slayer and the Scoobies. He feared he’d become a bureaucrat.

He cleaned his glasses with a sigh and returned to his paperwork . Two hours later, Xander had tracked down Faith, and she and Dawn where on their way to D.C. to check up on the three slayers and on Seeley Booth. Giles just hoped the mission would go smoothly, though he wasn’t counting on it.

***

Fall had come and gone, leaving the trees bare, branches stretching akimbo into the sky. A gentle dusting of snow covered the ground, and as he made his way into the Jeffersonian, Seeley Booth reflected on how much he liked Christmas. There was the snow, he’d always liked snow, and spending time with Parker, which was great, and on top of that, all his favorite foods; cookies, pies, cakes and even chocolate.

What he didn’t like about the Christmas season was dead people. It seemed like ever since he met Bones, Christmas was filled with bodies. There was a skeleton on Bones’ table now. Unidentified, thirty year old male, recovered from the wreck of the Nevada.

“Got anything for me, Bones,” Booth asked, dropping an armful of folders on the table he claimed as his own when he didn’t feel like going back to his office. Both Bones and Zach looked up for the body.

“The remains are not those of Andrew Hawley,” replied Zack, “These remains date to approximately 1780 which pre-date the sinking of the ship. Other than that, we’re still working on it.”

Booth nodded, “Let me know.” He wandered over to the coffee machine as Zack began detailing the markings of the parietal bone. Booth had been hoping that these were the remains of Andrew Edward Hawley, retired FBI Agent and current underwater crime scene investigation instructor.

He’d been missing for three months. At first, everyone had assumed he’d left behind the rat race for a more tropical climate, especially since his dive gear had vanished with him. Three separate people had sworn to Booth that Hawley had to be heading for the Bahamas.

Except Hawley hadn’t gotten on a plane, train, or boat in the United States, and none of the islands they’d contacted had any record of the man. His wallet had turned up two weeks into the investigation after a punk kid named Trip Waverly had used his credit card at Wal-Mart.

Young Trip, Booth judged, wasn’t capable of kidnapping or murder, which left the question as to how he’s come into possession of Andrew Hawley’s wallet. He claimed it had just been lying on a sidewalk outside near his school in Arlington and that he’d only exploited the bounty that fate had put in front of him. Booth believed him. Which begged the question, why such a traceable piece of evidence had been left in the open where it would surely be noticed?

Booth had done a little more digging and with a quick nudge to Zack, Spencer’s friend Garcia had worked her techno-magic. A full set of bank records, credit card receipts and every thing Hawley had done in the last year that had involved a computer in anyway were now in Booth’s possession. It looked clean: no large deposits or suspicious activity. On the other hand, the man had bought a lot of dive equipment.

Brennan and Zack were staring intent at some bone, so Booth diverted to Hodgins’ desk. He plunked down the list, “Hey, you dive, right?” he asked.

“Yes,” said Hodgins suspiciously, as he grabbed the list. “What’s this?”

“List of equipment that Hawley bought in the last month,” said Booth.

Hodgins looked at the list again, “Was his old gear stolen? Or maybe he outfitted someone else? Because this is everything you’d need to outfit a technical diver. It’s all top of the line stuff. A custom DIY dry suit, dual manifold, even new fins and a mask. And from the looks of this, he’s running his own compressor somewhere. I’d check his garage.”

Booth peered at the list and back at Hodgins, “Why would he need a compressor for diving?”

“He’s probably mixing his own triox. Technical divers often use their own gas mixes to breath at depths were oxygen can be toxic,” said Hodgins.

“Thanks,” said Booth, “I’ll make the call.”

***

Dawn stuck her feet up on the dash, balancing a notebook and some scholarly text that Faith couldn’t identify. She was chewing on the end of the Bic pen she’d stolen when signing for candy at the last gas station. Faith was to busy fighting holiday traffic to look at what she was writing, but it was probably in a language Faith couldn’t read anyway.

Christmas had never been Faith’s thing, to much togetherness or something. If Giles was right, if Angel was really alive, she’d write a thank you note to Santa. He’d stood by her, him and Wes of all people, and he’d been her friend. She hoped that it really was him, that Seeley Booth was just some funny Irish name he’d stolen from a drinking buddy back in the good old days of his humanity, that he was lying low, avoiding Thorn thugs.

These days Faith was overseeing the entire Eastern U.S. Giles trusted her, Buffy trusted her and the new slayers looked up to her as if she was Wonder Woman or something. It was amazing what a few years of prison counseling and an apocalyptic near miss could do for a person. Realizing that you are going to make it to your twenty-fifth birthday and probably past it could be a sobering proposition. Now, she was like a respected member of the community or at least could pretend at it.

Dawn had always been a good kid or could mimic it better than Faith ever could. She was serving as Giles’ long arm of the law in America and had blown Faith away with the job she was doing. Translating languages Faith hadn’t known existed, training with the newbies, and saving all their asses on several occasions. Which was not to say that Dawn had not demanded they stop for lick-em-ade twice, or hadn’t seat danced to Panic! At the Disco while singing along at the top of her lungs.

Faith finally saw the sign for their exit and maneuvered towards the right lane, dodging station wagons and SUVs full of whiny kids and yelling parents.

“Take a right at the light,” said Dawn, not even looking up from her book.

Faith followed the directions, Dawn had not been wrong yet, even though she hadn’t looked at a map or even out the window. Twenty minutes later, they were pulling into the hotel parking lot with out a single missed turn.

Dawn closed her books and shoved everything into her bag, “Ugh, I’m so sick of being in the car. The hotel better not suck.”

“I had Maeve check it out, no vamps, no ghouls, no creepy clerks, and there’s a hot tub down by the pool,” said Faith as she grabbed luggage out of the back. “She’s bring the others around before dusk so I can get a lay of the land.”

Once they finally settled in to the room, Dawn pulled up the files Giles had sent her on her laptop. There was very little information: three pictures of Seeley Booth, one with his partner, Temperance Brennan, one with his son, Parker Booth, and a scant text file from Giles with the information he’d already gathered.

Faith stared at the pictures. The man looked like Angel. The hair was a bit tamer, but the face was the same, the smile, the eyes, all of it said Angel to Faith. The partner didn’t seem like Angels type at all, she had to admit. She was older than Buffy, older than Darla had looked, and from the information Giles had supplied, she was brainier than Willow. Maybe they really just fought crime together.

It was the picture of Parker and the note that he’d been touch by magic that made Faith’s brain explode. There had been no mention of Connor in any of the reports the Council received. In fact, Faith was pretty sure none of the Scoobies had ever known of his existence and if that was the way Angel wanted to deal with it, Faith would play along. Was this why Angel had gone so deep undercover that even Buffy thought he was dead? Had he found some way to give Connor back the childhood that had been stolen from him?

She’d have to tell Dawn eventually, but not this instant. “You’ll be okay while I patrol?” she asked.

“Yeah, yeah,” said Dawn, waving Faith away, “I’ll be tracking down one Seeley Booth, FBI. I’ve got Red Bull, junk food, and your cell number. I’ll be good” She didn’t look up as Faith waved goodbye and then slipped out the door to meet up with the D.C. slayers.

***

By the time Faith had returned from patrol, three baby slayers in tow, Dawn had formulated a plan. She crossed her legs and let the slayers gather around so they could all see the screen of her laptop.

“This is Agent Seeley Booth, FBI. He works closely with the Jeffersonian’s forensic anthropology team,” she said, pointing to the picture of Booth in a suit and shades.  
Pulling up the next picture, she continued, “This is Angel, also known as Angelus the Scourge of Europe.”

“The resemblance is freaky,” commented Bex, the shortest of the new girls.

“For those viewers just tuning in, Angel was a vampire cursed with a soul by crazy gypsies a couple of centuries ago. He fought along side us and helped saved the world several times. He was a good guy,” explained Dawn, knowing that none of the baby slayer had been in Sunnydale those last few days, and hadn’t met Angel or any of the Los Angeles crew.

“Wait,” said Bex, “If we can give vampires back their souls and they turn good, why aren’t we out there doing that instead of staking them?”

“A,” started Faith, “Not just anyone can give a vampire back its soul. B, even though a vampire gains a soul doesn’t mean it loses its demon. C, a soul doesn’t keep people from killing people for money, it’s got to be harder to stop killing for food.”

“So, it would sort of like forcing a carnivore to be a vegetarian, while all the time taunting them with fillet minion?” asked Maeve.

Dawn nodded, “It took decades for Angel to come to grips with having a soul, and it’s not permanent. He gets happy, he loses it.”

“Dark mojo can also snatch his soul,” added Faith, not wanting to explain how she knew that little detail.

“So we think that Angel or maybe evil Angel, is pretending to be a FBI agent, and may or may not be eating people?” asked Abeni, the youngest of the three baby slayers.

“Actually,” said Dawn, “We thought he was dead, along with the only other known vampire in possession of a soul, Spike. I have done a little looking, and parts of Agent Booth’s file read false. We wouldn’t have known about this, except a local seer bumped into his son. He reported back to us that the child had been magically altered, and with Agent Booth’s resemblance to Angel, Giles asked us to do a little investigating.”

“But, this picture is in the daytime. Agent Booth is standing in the sun, he can’t be a vampire,” said Bex.

“That’s not much of a problem, there’s over a hundred ways for vampire to, well, apply magical sunscreen,” explained Dawn. She shifted slightly on the bed and set down the laptop. “Willow is expressing us some magical doohickeys, and tomorrow, Faith and I are going to bump into the kid and see what they pick up. You guys are going to take a tour of the Jeffersonian.”

“Sounds good,” said Bex, “I love the Air and Space building, but I guess we’re going to check out the Natural Science building.”

“That’s right. Just see if anything pings your slayer senses. Wander around, maybe learn something,” said Dawn with a smile. “We’ll regroup tomorrow, no, today around three in the afternoon. Until then, go get some sleep.”

Faith jumped in before the baby slayers could get out the door, “If you see Booth, don’t confront him. Do not sneak around, do not get caught, and do not get into a fight with him. If he really is Angel, if he doesn’t have a soul, he could take out all three of you and not break a sweat.”

All three nodded before tumbling out the door.

“Yeah,” said Dawn with a smirk, “They’re really going to follow that advice."

***

It wasn’t exactly a stakeout sine the three slayers were wandering in broad daylight, but it sure felt like one to Abeni. They had gone to the Natural Science Museum, and were pretending to be tourists, just as Faith had instructed them. Supposedly, they were dressed to blend in, but they really only looked like tourists if no one was scrutinizing them to closely.

After an hour of roaming the museum, Bex suggested they take a break and find a place to get some drinks. Maeve was opposed to the idea, and the two of them were about to start arguing when the man they were looking for, Agent Seeley Booth, finally showed up. Booth was in typical FBI wear: dark suit, dress shoes, sunglasses, but his belt buckle seemed to belay the image. There was no indication as to why he might be in the public section of the museum, but he moved through it quickly and seemed at ease.

“We should follow him,” whispered Bex in Abeni’s ear.

She was about to agree to the idea when she noticed something strange. Someone was already following Agent Booth. “Wait,” said Abeni, trying to watch the girl who was following Agent Booth, without drawing attention to herself. The girl was light on her feet, and if Abeni hadn’t been on the look out for Booth, she would have never noticed the girl following him.

“Do you have your cell phone?” She asked Maeve quietly. The other slayer nodded. “See if you can get a picture of her to take back to Faith and Dawn, maybe they’ll know who she is.”

Maeve fiddled with her phone a bit and then caught a quick snapshot of the girl, who thankfully, hadn’t noticed them at all. She showed the picture to Abeni, who nodded.

“It’s almost one, we should headed out and report in,” said Bex, the other two agreed and casually wandered out of the building.

***

Booth had had to park in the north parking lot today and had slogged in through the slush, trying not to ruin his suit. If there was ever a day to take a short cut through the public section of the museum, it was today. It was all going well, until he noticed he was being tailed. A slight Asian girl, the same one that he’d seen earlier, was following him again. He doesn’t think it’s because he’s hot, no matter what Bones says.

His paranoia is derailed when he notices another group of teenage girls. These ones seemed much more interested in the girl tailing him than him, though it was hard to tell when he was trying not to give away the fact he was one to them. Thankfully, the staff entrance was right ahead, so Booth ducked through it, leaving his stalkers on the other side of the door.

Bones, however, was on the other side of the door. “Booth, good timing. Andrew Hawley’s body was just delivered. Dr. Saroyan is examining the soft tissue right now.” She motioned for him to follow her to the lab.

“We’re not going to the crime scene?” asked Booth as they walked. The crime scene could provide just as much forensic evidence as the body would.

“Hawley was found late last night on the wreck of the U-869. It’s in 240 feet of water,” explained Bones. “I’m not qualified to dive it, though Hodgins is. He’s going to go out tomorrow with one of the men who found the body and look at the scene.”

Booth nodded, “So, he died in a u-boat. I wonder what he was doing down there. Any preliminary findings?”

Bones shook her head, “No obvious cause of death. The temperature of the water deterred decay, so estimating time of death is impossible without more evidence.”

“Wait,” said Booth as Brennan went through security, “how do we know it’s Hawley.”

“His name is on the dive gear the corpse was wearing,” replied Bones.  
***

“That’s it?” asked Booth. Usually Brennan worked her magic and they’d have a solid ID based on something more than sharpie marker.

“The DNA is running, it will be back in seven hours. Dental records should be match in approximately two hours. The corpse’s face is intact, however, one of the divers who recovered the body identified him,” explained Brennan.

That sounded more like normal lab procedure. Brennan slid her key card through the read, letting them through the lab’s security measures. Cam already had the body open, weighing and measuring. Hodgins and Zack had claimed the table next to her, doing much the same thing to the man’s scuba gear.

“Booth,” greeted Cam with a small wave of her bloody glove, “So far, I haven’t found anything that could be a cause of death. He neither drowned nor suffered a heart attack; both common causes of death while scuba diving.”

“The U-869 is supposedly cursed,” said Hodgins, “Hawley is the sixth man to die on the site. One of three to die this year. It’s gaining on the Andrea Doria to become the most deadly shipwreck to scuba divers.”

“That’s only if he died diving it,” said Zack, “He could have been killed on the surface and then dumped on the site.”

Hodgins gestured to the line of tanks on the floor, “All his descent tanks have been breathed off. Someone did that dive.”

“I’ll test for nitrogen build up in the fatty tissues,” said Cam, “That should tell us if he was alive on the way down. You’ll know as soon as I know.”

Booth had gotten used to waiting for squints to find a lead for him to track down, but it didn’t mean he liked waiting. Especially when he didn’t even have a theory. Hawley had bought a ton of dive gear, disappeared, and then turned up on the wreck of a World War II u-boat. He had no suspects in the distinctly odd slaying, and no leads. So, he bugged the squints instead, “Got anything for me,” he asked Hodgins and Zack.

“I haven’t found any signs that the equipment was tampered with or improperly connected,” replied Hodgins, waving some sort of meter in his hand. “We’ve tested the gas in all the tanks. He was diving on his own homebrew tri-mix and staging gases, but they are all mixed correctly. The tanks that he should have been using on his descent have levels consistent with being breathed off, and he had plenty of gas left to surface. He didn’t run out of air.”

Zack gestured to the table, “All his other equipment is in working order as well. All the regulators, the parts you breath off, they were all connected correctly and working. His Buoyancy Control Device, that vest like thing, in perfect working order and was correctly connected to his tanks and computers. Dry suit and computers also check out. The only piece of equipment that was not recovered was his mask and possibly a snorkel.”

“I sampled water from the gear and I’m going to compare it and any faunal remains we find those in the water around the U-869, to make sure they match,” continued Hodgins as Booth let the overflow of information wash over him.

Booth looked over at Brennan, “So we still have nothing to go on.”

“Looks like it,” replied Brennan with a sigh.

***

 _It slithered through the darkness of the ocean floor, feeling the current rush against its hide. The ocean’s dark waters folded around it, protecting, nurturing, and hopefully providing its next sacrifice._

***

Dawn and Faith had followed Parker Booth and his mother, Rebecca, to a small park not far from their home.

“You go,” said Faith, “Give her your best stressed out grad student. She’ll never believe you are anything else.”

Dawn stuck out her tongue, “That’s because I am a stressed out grad student. It’s not so hard to pretend to be something you are.”

Faith opened one of the bags Willow had overnighted to them, “One magic ring, coming up.”

Dawn carefully took the ring and slipped it on her finger, stone facing her palm. The ring was one of Willow’s newest magical doohickeys. The stone recorded the aura and magical signature of the first person it touched, and the ring prevented the stone from recording the wearer.

“I’ll be watching in case you need me,” said Faith. Dawn nodded and grabbed her backpack before exiting the car. As she walked down the side walk towards the park, she wondered what the ring would find. Was Seeley Booth really Angel, was he just the father of a magically gifted son, or was this all a set up?

If it was a set up, it was meant for them and Dawn would rather deal with it now than during the next apocalypse. She wandered into the park and sat on the other end of the bench from Rebecca, studiously ignoring her as she pulled out a battered copy of Analysing literary Sumerian.

She read for maybe fifteen minutes as Parker ran up and down the playground equipment, then set her book on her lap and sighed. Rebecca looked over and gave her a quick smile, the kind meant for strangers, and Dawn smiled back.

“Its nice weather we’re having,” said Rebecca, keeping one eye on Parker.

“Yeah,” said Dawn, “I’m glad it’s warmed up so much, though it would’ve been nice to have a white Christmas.”

The small talk continued until Parker ran over to the bench, “Mommy, I cut my hand,” he said, holding out his hand complete with a small scrape for inspection.

“It looks like it’ll be okay,” said Rebecca, “I don’t have any band-aids with me.”

“But it needs a band-aid, mom!” said Parker, visibly upset.

“If its okay, I think I have one in my backpack,” Dawn dug around the front pocket until she found one. Rebecca nodded, so she handed the band-aid to Parker, making sure the stone touched his skin.

“Say thank you, Parker,” said Rebecca and Parker mumbled through a repetition of the words.

“You’re welcome,” Dawn replied. Once Parker was bandaged and sent back off to play, Dawn made her excuses and hurried back to the car.

“So?” asked Faith before Dawn had even gotten the door closed behind her.

“Mission accomplished,” said Dawn, showing the now blue ring to Faith. Faith opened up a ziploc and Dawn wiggled the ring off and dropped it in the bag.

“Right, now we overnight this sucker to Willow and then we find the baby slayers and see what they’re up to.”

***

“We’re not the only ones following Seeley Booth,” was the first thing out of Bex’s mouth when they were safely inside the hotel room.

“What?” Faith asked, perplexed.

“Look,” said Bex, pointing to the screen on Maeve’s cell phone, “We got a picture.”

Faith squinted at the screen. The girl was Asian, early 20s, her black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and a look of intense concentration consumed her face. “Never seen her before,” she said and handed the phone to Dawn.

Dawn looked, “Me either.” Her response drained some of the enthusiasm from the room, “However, we can send the picture back to the Council. Maybe Xander or Willow will know who she is.” Dawn quickly downloaded the picture on to the laptop and attached it to the email she was already writing to Giles.

“Did you get close enough to Booth to see if he set off any slayer sense?” asked Faith

“Nothing,” said Bex and Abeni nodded in agreement.

“I didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary either and usually I can feel a fledgling at a thousand feet. Either he’s really not a vampire or he’s hiding it well,” said Maeve as she plopped down on the bed next to Dawn.

“Well, we sent off the ring to Willow, so maybe she’ll be able to give us some new ideas when she gets it,” said Faith.

***

Hodgins suited up as the boat swayed beneath his feet. The U-869 was off the New Jersey coast and deep enough that only technical divers could safely reach its depths. Normally if there was any diving to do on a case Brennan played the role of his dive buddy, but she wasn't certified to dive tri-ox and preferred to stay above 130 feet. So today Booth had sent out Agent Sarah Knowles, one of the few FBI technical divers who hadn't worked with Hawley, to be his buddy.

He watched as Knowles set up her gear. At least Booth had found him someone who knew how to dive. They briefly went over their dive plan, and then he handed her a camera, “Can you take pictures of the scene?”

“Sure,” she replied.

They entered the water and descended on the wreck. Andrew Hawley wasn't the only person to have died on this wreck, and Hodgins wasn't taking any chances with their safety. Three divers who had worked with the team who had identified the u-boat had perished, as well as all the crew who had been aboard the u-boat when it sunk. The crew's remains still rested in their watery grave.

They wouldn't be entering the wreck today, which as far as Hodgins was concerned was okay, as inside the twisted wreckage was far more dangerous then the outside. It hadn't helped Andrew Hawley though. He had died wrapped in the conning tower. Anywhere else outside the wreck and the current probably would've washed away his body, never to be found.

Once they reached the site, Hodgins knelt next to his buddy on the wreckage to gather any samples he could while she took photographs of the scene. Just from looking there was no way to tell that someone had died here. It was almost like a ghost town: once a strong, sure ship with a living, vibrant crew, now an abandoned, twisted heap of metal and bones. He gathered as much evidence as he could in the short time they had, swimming around Knowles as needed. When he was finished, he gave the signal to ascend. Even with the limited bottom time it would take them hours of decompression to reach the surface.

Hodgins swam behind Knowles as they retreated to the anchor line. He wished he could have done this dive for some other reason. As he swam by, he admired the hull of the wreak, twisted into a deadly coffin on the bottom of the ocean. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash and turned his head just in time to see what looked like a gigantic serpent before it disappeared.

He shook his head, hoping to clear it. Sometimes the ocean played tricks on the mind, even when diving on tri-ox. He reached the anchor line and slowly ascended to their first deco station, trying to catch another glimpse of the monster, but he saw nothing.

***

“I’m telling you, I saw something down there,” said Hodgins.

Zack nodded and continued to stare at Andrew Hawley’s x-rays.

“Zack! I’m not kidding I saw something that looked like the bigger, badder cousin of the Loch Ness Monster,” Hodgins wasn’t sure why he was confiding this in Zack. Mr. Logic was more than likely to dismiss it as figment of his imagination.

“The Loch Ness Monster is a mythical creature,” replied Zack, just as Hodgins had suspected he would. “I doubt it has cousins.”

Hodgins just glared at him.

Zack’s eyes narrowed, still intent on the x-rays, “Look at this. No a single bone in Hawley’s body was broken or fractured.”

“So, he didn’t put up a fight,” said Hodgins offhandedly.

“He also had no water in his lungs, or any signs of pulmonary edema,” Zack continued.

“So he didn’t drown, wet or dry,” Hodgins motioned for Zack to continue.

“And he had to have died at depth. Given all of that, combined with the fact not one of his organs was improperly functioning, how did he died?” Zack asked, confusion written across his face.

“No heart attack, no stroke, no air emboli, nothing physiological?” asked Hodgins.

Zack shook his head, “Nothing. I can’t find anything to suggest cause of death. It’s like his body just stopped.”

“Weird,” was Hodgin’s reply.

***

There was a slight pop, and then a rush of wind and then Willow was standing in the middle of their hotel room. Dawn shrieked and almost overbalanced in her chair. “You couldn’t knock?”

“Sorry, Dawnie,” Willow said as she leaned down to hug Dawn. “I got the ring and decided this needed some on the ground wicca-ing.”

“Apocalypse?” asked Dawn. She had been pretty sure Parker Booth wasn’t some precursor to the end of the world, but she’d been wrong before.

“No, or at least not yet,” was Willow’s reply. “Where’s Faith?”

“She’s out patrolling with the baby slayers, who really should be called something else: the newly called, post-Sunnydale slayers, the mob, anything. Wait, I’m getting off track, so what’s up with Parker Booth?”

“He’s going to grow up to be a Champion, if I’m right. His aura is amazing, and I think he’s meant to fulfill the Tyrrhenian Prophecies. I’m not translator girl, so I brought a copy of the prophecy for you to look over. It’s in Etruscan,” said Willow as she dug through her bag, “Ah, here it is.” She handed the xerox to Dawn.

“Ita clan nesnasval… This son of the one belonging to the dead, but still alive. I think that’d be the son of the vampire. Munis hinthial… who is endowed with a soul. Munis hinthial is Angel. Ipa alexia as calusu eisna… who was a gift from the Greater Powers. Alpnu les sval… shall willing give his life. Nac calusu eisna etnam trut heva etnam put… because of the Greater Powers and so shall save us all and fulfill the prophecy,” Dawn translate her way slowly down the fragment.

“This son of the Vampire with a soul, who was a gift from the Greater Powers, shall willingly give his life in the cause of the Greater Powers and so shall save us all and fulfill the prophecy. But why Parker? And wait, this means Parker is Angel’s son, right? So Seeley Booth is Angel?” asked Dawn.

“I can’t answer that for sure, but I think so. The ring showed me Parker’s aura. Enough to tell he was made, not born, made by the Powers. He was sort of a gift. I’m not sure if that makes him Angel’s son or Angel’s responsibility. But I think I know why. When I was looking for the Tyrrhenian Prophecies, I came across this. It’s only a copy of copy and a fragment at that, but it seems to imply that Angel will be rewarded with human life when he finishes his mission.”

Dawn looked at Willow in shock, “Angel is human?” Dawn’s mind roiled with the possibilities. If Angel was human, how would Buffy react?

“I think so, I think Angel is Seeley Booth, or rather that Seeley Booth is Angel’s reward,” said Willow.

Dawn stared at her for a moment, “Do you think he remembers us, I mean, his old life?”

“I don’t know. The prophecy doesn’t hint one way or the other,” explained Willow. “But if he does, why hasn’t he tried to get into contact with Buffy?”

“Would she tell us if he did?” Dawn muttered under her breath. “We should find out,” she said, back in her normal tone, “I mean we should find out what he remembers, if he really is Angel. Maybe he didn’t remember at first, or he was worried Buffy wouldn’t believe him or he was afraid for Parker.”

Willow frowned, “But what if he doesn’t? Angel was a monster for hundreds of years. What if not remembering, not having to live with those regrets is part of his reward?”

“We still have to find out,” said Dawn firmly.

“You’re right. If he doesn’t remember, we need to assign someone to watch out for him and Parker anyway. I think I should go, just in case the monk’s magic didn’t carry over through the re-humanizing,” said Willow, thinking out loud.

“We’ll head over to the Natural Science building in the morning. You can try and catch him in the parking lot. Faith will be back in a few hours, but we might as well catch some sleep while we wait,” said Dawn.

“Sounds good.”

***

“They saw me,” said Karina as she walked into the hotel room she was sharing with Connor.

“Booth?” he asked from his spot in the middle of the bad. He was surrounded by photographs and files, all pertaining to Seeley Booth if Karina had to guess.

“No, three girls. I’m pretty sure they were slayers. It’s a shame that slayer senses don’t work that way. Though, I guess that’s never been a problem before now,” said Karina, clearing a space next to him.

“Probably not. It’s interesting that the Council is out here, too. They must think Booth is Angel too. I wonder why?”

***

"At least this Booth doesn't seem to have been up to anything evil," Karina offered, cuddling closer to Connor.

"Angelus was a master at playing human when he needed to," Connor said, distractedly. "It does seem like he would have slipped up and done something by now if he was truly evil, though."

"And if Booth is Angel? What do we do then?" asked Karina.

"I go and talk to him. That's all I really wanted to do in the first place: make sure he wasn't Angelus and if not, just talk to my father," said Connor.

***

Faith was surprised to find Willow asleep on her bed when she returns from patrolling with the baby slayers. She hadn't even tried to be quiet coming in: the sounds of someone trying to be stealthy would have woken Dawn faster than anything else.

Willow blinked up at her, still sleepy eyed. "Hey."

"Hey yourself, Red. Did you take the Wicca Express?" Faith asked.

"Yep," Willow replied. "I've got news, and I thought sooner was better than latter."

Their conservation must have woken Dawn as well, because she jumped into the discussion. "Willow thinks Parker is destined to be a Champion. And the prophecy seems to imply he must be Angel's son."

"So Booth is Angel?" Faith asked.

"I think so. Here, let me go grab..." Willow trailed off as she pulled herself out of bed and went to search through the papers on the desk. "Ah, here we go," she said triumphantly, handing the paper over to Faith.

Faith scanned the prophecy. "There's only a slight hitch," she said after reading Dawn's translation. "Angel does have a son who was a gift from the Powers. His name is Connor."

Both Dawn and Willow spun to stare at her. "What?" they said in unison.

"There was a whole thing and I wasn't there for most of it, but Angel and Darla had a son. And then he got kidnapped and was raised in a Hell Dimension and came back to kill Angel. For a while, Angel did something to make everyone forget about him, but then later something happened and all my memories came back. And then Angel died and there was never really a good time to bring it up," said Faith.

"Wow," said Dawn.

"You're not kidding," replied Willow. "Angel has a son."

"So we're back to square one?" asked Faith.

"Well, we know Parker was made by the Powers now. They don't do that for just anyone. The Powers are usually pretty stingy about their gifts," Dawn pointed out.

"I think we'll just have to go ask Mr. Booth," said Willow.

***

"Hey Zack," said Hodgins, as he gathered his scuba gear.

"Are you going diving again?" Zack asked. He'd come in early this morning. It was always good to get a head start on the day if he wanted to be King of the Lab. It took hard work to come up with just the right clue that would break Booth's cases.

"Yeah, something is bugging me about the site, but I can't figure it out. I'm going to take a second look," Hodgins explained.

"Okay," said Zack, turning back to his work. "I'll see you when you get back."

Almost an hour later, Zack was once again interrupted.

"Where's Hodgins?" Dr. Brennan asked.

Zack looked up from his microscope. "Hm?"

"Hodgins? He was supposed to be here. He said he'd have a report by 9:30, but I can't find him anywhere," Dr. Brennan said, looking agitated.

"He went back out to the dive site," Zack replied.

"What? I told him he'd have to wait. Booth couldn't find him a dive buddy for today and we really needed him in the lab," fumed Brennan.

“Maybe Agent Booth found him a diving partner and forgot to inform you?” suggested Zack. Booth wasn’t always predictable in Zack’s experience.

“You could be right. I’m going to go speak with Booth,” said Dr. Brennan, walking off before she could even ask him about his report.

***

Brennan wasn’t going to find Booth anytime soon, as he had been cornered in his favorite hole in the wall coffee shop by three young women. None of them looked familiar, but he was sure it was somehow related to the other teenaged girls who seemed to be stalking him.

“Seeley Booth?” asked the red headed one.

“Yes,” he said tentatively.

“I’m Willow Rosenberg, and I was wondering if you’d ever heard of a man named Angel?”

***

Booth stared at the girl, Willow. "Not that I know of. Why?

He was about to continue his interrogation when an odd sensation crawled up his body. It was like deja vu. He had felt this before in his dreams and it was never a good thing.

"What are you doing to me?" he demanded. What ever it was, it was making his hair stand on end.

The dark hair woman who still hadn't introduced herself laid a hand on Booth's arm and a sense of recognition flashed through Booth's head.

"I know you," he said, confused

"My name is Faith," she said and Booth felt like he should have known that.

While Booth was distracted by this revelation, Faith hissed to Willow, "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing! I just did a little scan to much sure he was human. The feel of magic must have knocked something loose," Willow said nervously.

"You thought I wasn't human?" Booth asked. He wasn't sure if it was the idea that these people thought that they could use magic or the idea that they thought he might not be human was more disturbing.

"It was a distinct possibility. Don't worry, though, you're human," replied Willow.

"Well that's good to know. But really, what do you want?" Booth asked. His coffee had gone cold in his hand, but he took a sip anyway.

His query was interrupted by his phone demanding attention. Booth took a quick look at the caller ID: Bones.

“What’s up, Bones,” he asked, distractedly.

“Hodgins went back to the dive site. Did you find him a dive buddy?” asked Bones, who was obviously agitated.

Booth shifted the phone to his other ear and turned away from the women. “No, I couldn’t get anyone. Knowles was out with anti-terrorism and everyone else had either worked with Hawley or was unqualified for such a deep dive.”

“Well, Hodgins went out to the site anyway. Zack says he packed up all his gear and was out of the building by 7.”

“Why would Hodgins go back to the site by himself?” Booth asked.

“I don’t know. Hodgins is a good diver, but he was acting weird last night, like he was obsessed with diving the site again. If he’s convinced he can do a 200 plus foot dive, without even a safety diver on the boat, something is wrong. If nothing else, he wouldn’t break crime scene protocol like this,” said Bones.

"Maybe he was exposed to something at the crime scene? Something that's making him act funny? We should see if we can beat him out there," Booth said.

"He's got a three hour head start," Bones pointed out.

"But he doesn't have the resources of the federal government behind him at the moment. If he's counting on getting a boat from us, he'll be out of luck. I'll pick you up in fifteen minutes," Booth said and snapped his phone shut.

"Look," Booth said, turning around to face the three young women. "I don't know what your story is but I have to go. I'm not the guy you're looking for and I don't believe in your magic crap anyway. I'm sorry I could be more helpful."

***

Karina fidgeted in the passenger seat of Connor's rental car. "Do you think they're telling him?" she asked.

"They're telling him something," replied Connor. "Whatever it is, he's not sticking around to find out more."

Karina watched as Booth stalked out of the coffee shop, visibly upset.

Connor slipped off his seat belt and got out of the car. Karina hurried to follow. They were only supposed to be watching, and she wasn't sure why they were departing from the plan.

She tried to grab his elbow as he walked by, but he shrugged her off and walked straight into the coffee shop and up to the Council representatives.

"Faith," he said.

"Connor?" she half asked, half stated.

He nodded. "Is that my father?"

Faith looked at Willow, who nodded. "Yeah, we think so. Except Willow says he's human now. No trace of vampire."

"Nothing at all," Willow chimed in. "He doesn't seem to remember being Angel either."

***

Booth drove at full speed towards the Jeffersonian. Something was wrong with his squints, which almost never ended up well, and he'd like to head it off at the pass this time. Problematically, something was wrong with him too. Whatever that girl back at the coffee shop had done to him, it was playing tricks on his brain. Flashes of people fighting, of monsters, of a tiny blond girl; they all fought the DC traffic for his attention.

"Get it together, Booth," he said to himself, trying to shake his head clear. The images seemed familiar as if he should have recognized them, but he didn't. Nothing made sense.

He pushed the images to the back of his mind. Hodgins was in some sort of trouble and whatever sort of nervous breakdown he was having could wait until his squints were safe.

***

"My dad is human?" Connor repeated, slipping on to a bar stool next to Faith.

"It's a reward, we think," Dawn said, handing over a translated copy of the prophesy.

"Oh," Connor said, sadness infused in his voice.

"The memory thing might just be temporary," Willow explained. "I didn't get to take a good look, but he seemed to be able to sense my magic and recognize it. His memories of being Angel might just be taking his time surfacing."

"Wait, if he's getting his memories back, whether fast or slow, we need to follow him. When I got my memories back, I was a mess. It was bad," Connor said.

"I can follow him," Willow said, looking a bit guilty. "I might have done the equivalent of tagging him with a GPS chip. It took so long to find him this time, I figured..."

"No, it was a great idea," Connor replied.

"We should go get him. He's a Federal Agent. With a gun. Who is about to go arrest someone," Faith said urgently.

"If he starts remembering being Angelus..." Dawn trailed off.

"Let's go find him before that happens," Karina added with a shiver.

"We'll take my car," Faith said. "I don't want to lose you in traffic."

"Okay." Connor nodded his head and the group headed back out onto the street and into Faith's car. Willow claimed the passenger seat, and Faith was driving, leaving Dawn to share the backseat with Connor and Karina.

Willow took a deep breath. "Follow the little blue tinkerbell light," she said, and then closed her eyes and began to chant.

Little tinkerbell light was an apt description, Faith thought, and following it through DC traffic was not the easiest task she'd ever undertaken, but after a few close misses and a more swallowed down moments of road rage, Faith managed to to get them to a marina. She parked the car next to Booth's black SUV, and the group then tumbled out into the parking lot.

They didn't even have to look for Booth, he was standing on a dock, yelling. "Hodgins! Don't move!"

Connor started running, but Faith caught his arm before he could even get two feet. "Wait. We need intel before we rush in."

The man Booth was yelling, Hodgins, at seemed no to hear Booth, or them as they slowly approached. He was absorbed in the task of prepared the boat to leave.

"I think something's wrong with that man," Dawn said, voicing what everyone else was thinking.

"Let me check," Willow said, and closed her eyes.

"If this turns into a fight, you and Karina are on Willow duty," Faith said quietly.

"Okay," Dawn said, and Karina nodded.

Which of course, was when Willow started walking towards Booth and Hodgins.

"Stop," Connor called, but Willow didn't hear him. She walked towards Hodgins with eyes closed, stepping carefully over rope and lines that she could not have seen.

Karina took the initiative and tackled Willow before she walked into Booth's line of fire.

"Stay back!" Booth yelled at them, never taking his eyes off Hodgins.

"What happened?" Willow asked, still pinned by Karina.

"You went for Hodgins. You couldn't hear any of us," Karina said, filling her in.

Willow sat up with Karina's help. "All I could hear was the ocean. Waves crashing on the shore and the silence of the deep sea and the crackle of thunderstorms over the open water. And a voice. A voice that called for me." Willow shook her head. "It was a demon. An old one at that. It has a hold of Hodgins and when I reached out, it snagged me through him."

"Demon?" Booth asked, still keeping an unnoticing Hodgins in his sights. His face looked pained though and his knuckles whitened.

"The sea demon Manahan, I think," Willow said. "Do you remember him?"

"There are no such things as demons," Booth said, but his hands were beginning to shake.

"Stay with Willow," Faith hissed at Dawn. "Connor, Hodgins. I've got Booth."

Dawn nodded and Connor began slowly making his way to where Hodgins had begun loading scuba gear onto the boat.

"Agent Booth," Faith said, "there are demons. You're remembering them right now, aren't you? Vampires and werewolves? Girls with extraordinary strength? Witches and Seers?"

Booth gasped and lowered his gun. "My head. It hurts. All these memories."

"I know. Willow is going to help you, okay, Agent Booth? Just put your gun back in the holster. You don't have to give it to me, just put it away, okay?"

"What about Hodgins?" Booth managed to say around the pain.

"Connor will take care of Hodgins. We've got this," Faith says.

Booth put his gun back in its holster and then collapsed next to Willow, who quickly went to check on him.

"He's unconscious," Willow reported.

***

Connor was a little upset when Faith tasked him with Hodgins instead of his father, but he understood her decision and there was no time to argue. He'd seen picture of the man while going through the intel that Karina had gathered: a scientist of some sort. Easy enough for Connor to take down.

Hodgins didn't even seem to notice that Connor was approaching him. The man just continued to to load tanks aboard that boat. "Mister... Hodgins?" Connor said, repeating the name Booth had been yelling moments ago. There was no response from the man. Connor reached out to grab Hodgins' arm, and the man spun around. The only thing that saved Connor from a broken nose were his ultra-fast reflexes. Hodgins punched and Connor ducked. It was a short fight, Hodgins seemed to have power but no skill and Connor managed to knock him out before he did too much damage.

"You okay?" Faith called.

"I'm fine. But he's out for the count," Connor replied, and then carried the unconscious man over to where Willow was still perched over Booth.

Karina and Dawn gathered closer. "No one seems to have noticed the commotion," Karina said, kneeling down next to Hodgins.

"Faith, watch Booth, make sure he doesn't wake up. I'm going to take a look and see what's going on," Willow said, gesturing at Hodgins.

Faith nodded, and Willow turned her concentration to Hodgins while Connor looked on.

It didn't look like Willow did anything, but when she looked up her eyes were black she said, "I was right about Manahan, but Hodgins should wake up and be fine. As for Manahan, well, we should make a note for someone to check in on him in a hundred years. Right now he's safely asleep." The slight smirk on her face dissuaded anyone from asking what exactly she had done.

As if on cue, Hodgins groaned. "Where am I?" he slurred.

"You passed out. We're at the boat locker," Faith said.

Further explanation was cut off by a groan from Booth.

"Connor?" Booth said, and then attempted to sit up.

"Dad?" Connor asked as Faith prevented Booth from sitting up.

"If you sit up right now, ten to one odds you'll puke," Faith explained, hands still on Booth's shoulders. "Stay down for another minute or two, and I'll let you talk with Connor."

"Okay, Faith, I'll behave," Booth said, and Faith moved to check on Hodgins while Connor knelt down beside Booth.

"You remember me?" Connor asked.

"I do. It's fuzzy, like a dream, but I remember you, Connor," Booth said, a smile spreading across his face. "You've grown up so much."

"You're human now." Connor stared down at his father.

"Yeah, kiddo, I am. And from what I remember, it seems like I have a lot to make up for, if you'll let me."

"We should..." Connor started to say, but Dawn interrupted him.

"Hate to break up this father-son bonding moment, but the cops are on the way," she said. "And some of us should definitely not be here when they get here."

Faith and Connor got Booth up right as Willow and Karina steered Hodgins toward his car.

"We'll follow you in his car," Willow said, and Faith nodded.

"What just happened?" Hodgins asked as Willow helped him into the backseat of his own car.

"That," Willow said, "is a story for another day."


End file.
